The Board has remanded the cases for further examination and opinion due to the Veteran's incarceration preventing VA from providing necessary examinations. The issues of service connection are inextricably intertwined with drug and alcohol dependency.
The deciding factor: The issues of service connection are dependent on whether the Veteran is ultimately granted service connection for other conditions, which requires a remand for further examination and opinion.
- Claimed conditions
- mental health disability, foot disability (claimed as swollen arches), drug and alcohol dependency
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 13, 2023
- Citation
- 23065988
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 23065988.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board finds that the issue of entitlement to a TDIU is moot due to the Veteran's combined 100% schedular rating, and thus, no ancillary benefits are warranted.
- Denied
The Board has denied service connection for left shoulder disability, mental health disability, and diabetes. The Board found no evidence of a current disability or in-service injury that would support the Veteran's claims.
- Granted
The Board grants service connection for a mental health disability, as currently diagnosed, based on traumatic experiences during active military service.
- Dismissed
The veteran withdrew the appeals for an increased rating in excess of 70 percent for major depressive disorder with alcohol use disorder and service connection for mental health disability.
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